This invention relates to a mobile terminal including geo-location capabilities, and to a system and method system for determining the geographic location of a mobile terminal.
Increasingly, mobile terminals are equipped with positioning receivers that derive geographic position information from external sources, e.g. a satellite or radio network. Precise location information is useful for a variety purposes in connection with a mobile terminal. The location of the mobile terminal may, for example, be used in determining the billing rate for a particular telephone call based on a user""s calling plan. Location information is also useful in connection with a variety of ancillary services, such as locating a user for providing emergency medical assistance, e.g. in connection with a 911 emergency call, or providing location information for nearby facilities such as gas stations, hotels, etc.
A mobile terminal consistent with the invention is provided with a processor circuit configured to identify an approximate geographic position of the mobile terminal by accessing a database including data representing a plurality of geographic positions. The approximate position corresponds to one of the geographic positions in the database associated with data representing a current cell identification number for a cell in which the mobile terminal is located.
A communication system consistent with the invention includes a radio network having a plurality of base stations, each base station serving a cell in the radio network; a database including data representing a plurality of geographic positions; and a mobile terminal configured to receive communication signals from the radio network. The communication signals include data representing a current cell identification number corresponding to an associated cell in which the mobile terminal is located. The mobile terminal is configured to identify an approximate geographic position of the mobile terminal by accessing the database. The approximate position corresponds to one of the geographic positions associated in the database with data representing the current cell identification number. In another embodiment, a location server configured to communicate with the mobile terminal through the radio network may be configured to identify the approximate geographic position.
A method of determining the geographic location of a mobile terminal consistent with the invention includes: creating a database including data representing a plurality of geographic positions; identifying a current cell identification number corresponding to a cell in which the mobile terminal is located; and determining the geographic location based on data including at least one of the geographic positions associated in the database with data representing the current cell identification number.